Want to save? Put it on the list

You know times are hard when the shopping list makes a comeback.

As the recession takes hold, consumers who used to shop impulsively are seeking ways to rein in their spending, and many are finding that sticking to a list can help them navigate through stores and limit their purchases.

Until recently, Eileen Burke's main goal when shopping was "to get in and get out" of the supermarket quickly. But now, financial worries have Burke working to trim her shopping bill.

Using a shopping list – which she organises on her iPhone by category and updates as she shops – has helped her buy "the food I need, but not in excess". With the list, as well as careful attention to store circulars, she has trimmed 20 per cent to 25 per cent from her weekly food bill in recent months.

The old-fashioned list is getting a boost from new technology. While plenty of people still scratch lists on envelopes, napkins and wrappings from the morning's doughnut, a growing abundance of online shopping-list services is changing the way shoppers plan their outings.

The online lists, launched in recent years, can be accessed through all types of media, including messaging services and smart phones. The features include links to auto-suggest features based on items listed in the past.

At GroceryWiz.com, a website that helps users create and save shopping lists, many family members can add items from different locations – even if they log on using different computers.

Burke likes a feature on her iPhone's "Groceries" application that allows her to erase each item on her list with a touch after she drops it into her grocery basket. "Then all that's left is what I haven't purchased," she says. "It's really cool."

Traffic at GroceryWiz.com is up 30 per cent this year, with the site attracting 25,000 unique visitors per month, says company president Allen Dalton. Kroger Co says visits to its shopping-list web page increased 62 per cent in March from the year-earlier month.

Three of every four shoppers say they're making food decisions at home, as opposed to making the decision in-store, according to a February study conducted by Information Resources Inc, a market research firm in the United States. That compares to the 30 per cent figure generally seen during better economic times, IRI says.

Of course, the shopping list isn't a novel concept. (The historical record includes a Roman army supply list including bread that was carved into wood around the year 80AD)

But around the 1980s and 1990s, lists fell out of favour, according to supermarket consultants and analysts, as more women entered the work force and busy consumers opted for takeout and prepared foods instead of eating at home. Meanwhile, retailers and packaged-food companies used promotions to train shoppers to look for great deals rather than items they needed, leading to impulse purchases.

But in recent months, some shoppers have been taking a harder line on impulse buying. Dubai resident Fatima Khan, 31, says she hadn't used a grocery list in years. Then last summer, an expensive shopping trip led her to realise her family's food budget needed a makeover. "I recall spending Dh200, and going home with just bread, cheese and milk," says Khan.

Now, if it's not on the list then it does not make it into her home, says Khan, who isn't above tearing pages out of her daughter's notebook to scribble down a quick list before heading out to her neighbourhood Spinneys.

While shoppers write down the kinds of items they plan to buy, some still make brand decisions – Al Rawabi 2kg yoghurt or Marmum dairy – in the grocery aisle. Retailers and their vendors have responded by stepping up in-store marketing, such as on-shelf labels and signs. The companies are also bundling ingredients for meals together at one location (for example, sauce, pasta, and French bread for an Italian-themed dinner).

And retailers are pushing sales that require multi-unit purchases at the beginning of the month, when many shoppers, have more money for shopping. "We are not only trying to anticipate [shoppers] but guide them by delivering value," says Duncan MacNoughton, executive vice-president of marketing and merchandising for grocery chain Supervalu.

Newly married Arun Bhaskar, 33, says when he was growing up, he used to laugh at his parents when they took inventory of their kitchen pantry and made a shopping list. Last year, he adopted their old habit after tiring of spending 45 minutes at the store and coming home with a bill of over Dh500 and "three different brands of tomato soup", he says. "My wife was shocked at the expense and forced me to make my first list. Now, I don't indulge in impulse buying and rarely spend more than Dh300 for one expedition."

(With inputs by Bindu Rai)

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